A Royal Discrepancy | Ayamiya

Chapter 9: Anticipation

A maid walks in a with a beautiful bouquet of Sakura Blooms, arranged decoratively with Silk Flowers to fill in the spaces. "Miss Kamisato, y-your bouquet of florals," she says, stuttering. "Ah, Hotaru, thank you for bringing these," replies Ayaka, taking a deep breath in and marveling at the fragrance of the flowers. The maid bows and quickly leaves the room, but not soon enough for both Ayaka and Lumine to not notice the blush on her face. "Pfft, I think she has a crush on you," giggles Lumine.

Ayaka rose to her feet, her entire outfit ready to go. She steps outside her room and gains a collective gasp from all the maids, posy in hand. "M-Miss Kamisato, you look incredible!" one of them exclaims. "So do you," Ayaka smiles back and walks to the entrance. She sees her carriage awaiting her, and a seperate carriage for her bridesmaids. Her mother squeals at her arrival and slowly takes her to the carriage, taking care not to crease her outfit. 

Lumine quickly clambers in after her and the carriage starts to move at a rapid pace. After 30 minutes, Ayaka starts to see the gorgeous waterfalls and flora of Watatsumi Island slowly start to appear in her vision and is, as always, amazed. Watatsumi Island effortlessly shocks everyone who visits due to the charm, no matter if they are a resident or a visitor. No matter the amount of times you've visited, there's always some new natural beauty to marvel at. The carriage pulls up to the imposing yet elegant Sangonomiya Shrine. A shrine maiden helps them get out of their carriage and ushers them inside. Inside, a priestess awaits them. She is dressed in various shades of blue and white and her salmon colored hair perfectly frames her outfit and face. She has an indigo choker with an azure drop - shaped gemstone.

"Kokomi!" exclaims Ayaka's mom, running over and hugging the girl, gaining a repulsed reaction from the latter at the hug as she rolls her eyes, before greeting Ayaka. "Ah, Princess Ayaka, welcome to Sangonomiya Shrine. It is a true pleasure getting to meet you again," she says, bowing respectfully. "Thank you for having us," replies Ayaka, bowing. 

"So, I will be the priest who will be conducting your wedding ceremony. You will, of course have your actual wedding in the Sangonomiya Shrine, and the final decorations are being added," she says, as she gestures to the multitude of maids bustling around putting up florals and streamers. "Miss Kamisato, feel free to check up on the decorations and fix anything you need. As for me, I need a couple moments with the bride," she says, clutching Ayaka's arm and swiftly pulling her away. The two walk in silence until they're outside the Shrine. 

"Sorry about my weird reactions, I know your mom is homophobic as fuck, so her trying to be affectionate and shit with me is just useless," sighs Kokomi. Ayaka stands there, a little stunned by the fact that a priestess of her social standing would even swear. "What, is it me swearing? Damn, my girlfriend has really rubbed off on me, huh?" replies Kokomi, noticing Ayaka's face. "Wait, you have a girlfriend?" asks Ayaka, now intrigued. "Yeah, Kujou Sara. Do you know of her? She works in the army as a war general, and she's my girlfriend," replies Kokomi, blushing. 

 "Aww, that's sweet," giggles Ayaka.

"I needed to ask you, but, do you actually plan on marrying Thoma? Like seriously?" asks Kokomi. "Not really. I-I have a girlfriend too, her name's Yoimiya and she plans to intercept the wedding and for us to get married instead..." mutters Ayaka, her face turning red. "Brilliant!" she hears, before looking at the priestess. "Sorry, ahaha, I'm just happy because forced marriages are never fun to conduct. I like conducting those with genuine love in them, and it seems like that between yourself and the Nagonohara princess," she exclaims, clapping her hands. 

"I'm just glad you're accepting," replies Ayaka. "No worries, now let's get you to the back, you're getting married in a little bit anyways," she says. She ushers Ayaka there, where she finds Fumiko as well as 7 other bridesmaids all seated there, with flowers in cute little baskets. Fumiko makes her way over to the princess and talks while they wait. "Are you excited?" she asks. "Definitely, but really worried too. I'm scared for my mom's response to this whole thing," Ayaka replies, confiding in the bridesmaid. "Don't worry! Inazuma is already incredibly accepting, what with our Shogun being engaged to the Guuji, so they'll stand up for you," she says, grinning. 

About half an hour later, Ayaka notices multitudes of Inazumans scurrying into the Shrine, all holding presents and florals, coming in with their whole families. The Shrine is quite large, so a quite a lot of people were able to attend. Kokomi quickly rushes off, her salmon - pink hair streaming after her. Ayaka then notices her father coming in, waving at him. Fumiko moves out of the way as he sits down next to her.

A little while later, a maid bursts through the doors and exclaims, "Everyone's seated! Prince Thoma will be entering in a couple minutes, before Ayaka does!"

Ayaka sits on her own chair, heart beating. 

She was worried and scared for her mother's, what will be, egregious reaction. She waits patiently, until a sudden eruption of claps and cheers can be heard from the shrine.

Prince Thoma has arrived. 

A violin and piano start to play harmoniously together, as the rest of the orchestra does too. "Princess. It's your time to shine!" cries out the maid, as Ayaka, her father, and the bridesmaids follow, Fumiko giving her a quick wink. The entryway to the Shrine has certainly never been so imposing, but Ayaka's excited to marry Yoimiya.